Building a new house- What would you have done differently?

[nzporsche944s2]

I've have recently finished a 5 house development with my brother so I can speak with some knowledge....

A lot of the posts above are about the details which are very important to the finished result but they miss some of the bigger picture. From our experience here is my advice;

- don't underestimate the stress this will temporarily add to your life. It is incredibly draining on your mental and emotional resources. If you are about embark on that journey then make sure the rest of your life is in order for the duration of the project i.e. don't contemplate simultaneously changing jobs or getting married or any other big life event. Put those on hold until the project is finished

- Make sure you have the funds or finance fully in place PRIOR to starting. It may sound like commonsense but as a poster above said, it is amazing how many people get 90% of the way through and run out of funds when the finish line is in sight. If you have a budget in mind or costs say from a Quantity Surveyor add 10-15% to that value and factor that into your finance to give you some "wiggle" room as there will inevitably be scope creep or unexpected surprises through the build.

- choose your builder wisely. Talk to the people that have used that builder and what their experiences were. An honest builder is worth a premium over a dishonest one (the last builder we engaged used unauthorised substituted cheaper products to those in the specification and we ended up taking him to abritration and winning a $220k settlement). Avoid getting into a situation where abritration is necessary - only use it as a last resort.

- seek a fixed price contract for the build with a fixed settlement date and liquidated damages per day beyond that date. There is no motivation like money to encourage a builder to stay focused on a project.

- above all remain committed to the project and stay focussed. There will be times when you will feel like giving up or wondering why you contemplated building. As long as your original premise is solid (e.g. to build an investment property, or build your dream home etc) and you have the above advice in place then the rest will fall together.

As the developer (or funder) all of your work is actually done prior to any earth being moved.

Good luck

[VaSteve]

I have a cookie cutter house in a new neighborhood. It was built for us, meaning we picked this model from the 3 offered. We picked the medium model so it's different than the more traditional bigger model on the rest of the street.

I wish the garage was bigger. I wish the mudroom was bigger and maybe as a part of the garage. The laundry room should have been twice as big. The kitchen touching the family room (all open) was a mistake...but the other model was no better. The formal living room and dining room is space I could have used for other rooms. We didn't know what we were doing...I'd do differently next time.

[dennis in se pa]

No matter how much effort you put into planning and managing, you will never build your perfect house. Much easier and cheaper to find one already built. And your taxes will be lower. I designed and built new construction for years. I have never lived in a new house.

[Gretch]

Electric outlets in places you will use them for night lights and such, in bathrooms and stairways.

Basement doors open to outside, double steel doors to accommodate wide materials, items.

geothermal piping under the basement floor. Cheap to install before floor is poured, and provides a great future heating cooling option.

More bays of garage..... 3 anyway and if in cool climate, consider a standalone Modine propane heater for garage space.

Gen tran switch and outlet in garage. cheap to do during construction, same with data and speaker cable.

small (2 gallon) in line water heaters in every bathroom/kitchen/laundry room (in cabinet under sink) so no waiting for hot water.

Attic fan with thermostat switch and manual over ride.

These are the things I wish I had done when I built my place 15 years ago.

[Z-man]

Plan for 20% overrun. Even with the tightest budgets, you will run into unknown expenses. If you won't use that 20%, use it for furniture.

As the the details:
- As stated, focus on the stuff that gets you the best ROI - kitchen and baths.
- Don't get something that will not add value to your home -- such as a sauna, cigar room, or wine cellar. It may be your dream home, but eventually you will sell it, and if the buyer doesn't want a sauna / cigar room / wine cellar, they'll pass.
- Kitchen - if you are a big hot tea drinker, invest in an instant hot/cold filtered water system. Insinkerator makes are great under-cabinet system for about $500.
- Kitchen - soft-close drawers are very nice.
- Kitchen - we put an electric outlet in one of the lower cabinets - and when we need to charge our devices, they go there instead of adding clutter to the counter-tops.
- If you can wire the whole house for sound, that is a nice touch. I wouldn't bother with running cat-5 / cat-6 cables everywhere since everything is wifi now.
- Garage - get a tall ceiling - you may not yet need/want a lift, but maybe in the future...
- Entry-way - we got a new entry door with vented side-lites. We aren't big AC people - and the breeze that comes through the house is fantastic.
- Try not to do the trendy stuff - stick with what you like, and timeless features. Granite will never go out of style, but stained concrete will, just like an avocado kitchen did.
- You can never have enough nooks and crannies for storage.
- A whole-house generator, especially if you have gaslines is a good addition, and is better to do when initially building the house.
- Consider solar panels - and a system that also has batteries in-line -- that way if the grid goes down, you can produce and use your own electricity. (May not even need a generator then)
- Biggest factor in a home is location -- find the right spot. A dream home in the less-desireable side of town means you compromised, and will have difficulties selling.
- Consider water management - rain and water management: gutters, french drains..etc.

Hope this helps,
-Z

[john70t]

If you have the time, get a cheap CAD program and design your home virtually.
Some are drag-n-drop simple, have materials estimation, and movie walk-through.
After making a couple layouts run them by others and get more ideas.
It's a good head start for the architect.

You should also research existing blueprints and look at other house features.
Make a list of things you need and things you want.

As mentioned, stay universal as much as possible to keep resale value.

[flatbutt]

BIG azz workshop and as much alternate power tech I could get.

[TechnoViking]

I had a house built once. Wont do that again. I'd much rather be able to see what I'm buying and know what I'm getting into. Our builder hit water when digging the foundation. Had to add a bunch of mitigation equipment and raise the house 3'.

Our builder used cheap windows and faucet fixtures. Stuff started breaking at about the 5 year mark.

[RF5BPilot]

Central vac installed in the garage so it can double as a dry utility vac for garage projects/car cleaning.

I have installed whole house fans (central fans that exhaust through an attic area). Works on many days (in our area) without having to use a/c. May or may not be right for your area.

A house is part of its environment. Once you have an approximate layout, take it to the site and really look at the views you'll get from different windows. Also, look at how the house is situated regarding typical wind (are windows in the right place for good ventillation) and the sun (ideally your overhang will be adjusted so you get more sun in the winter and more shade in the summer). For sun, it's usually cheaper to control heat through awnings and overhangs than with blinds.

Is this an area that loses power? Get gas appliances and have a transfer switch wired into the main panel. (Probably less of a concern in southern climates.)

Think of where the most dirt will come from and see if you have containment strategies (e.g., mud rooms).

If you work on your own cars, think about including a lift in the design of the garage. Consider extra outlets and 220v outlets in the garage. Plan for good lighting and possibly insulation.

Think of how you entertain and imagine the flow of an evening through the house. Same way with visiting guests who stay for a week.

A new study shows more deaths by fire in open floor plan homes because there are fewer walls to slow and contain the fire. If you're doing that kind of design, consider residential fire sprinklers. They can be relatively subtle....not like the industrial kind....but may save the young or elderly.

Think about designing the home with features for the elderly. Walk-in showers. No stairs to key resources. Doorways wide enough for a wheelchair. Not only will you be able to stay in the home longer, but when one of you falls or is in an accident, you may be able to mend at home. (My wife thought my attention to this was a little overdone until she got thrown by her horse and decided that maybe it was a good idea.)

I agree with others about extensive wiring of the house for video and data.

In general, think about how water is going to move on your property with serious storms. Create natural channels to direct it where you want it. Sooner or later it will rain harder than you think.

If appropriate, think about the traffic on the street. Is your view getting out of the driveway going to be blocked? Room to turn around if possible?

It's easy to spend money on grand rooms that almost never get used. It's hard to have too much storage. Try to have extra, unusued capacity in your electrical panel(s).

A great adventure. Good luck.

[herr_oberst]

If you and the wife are thinking about a stripper-pole, cheaper to install now rather than retrofit...

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by id10t

Our house was built (or rather, paid to be built) by a guy that worked for the local power co, and he hated the thought of paying his own salary in his utility bill. So we have

2x6 exterior walls - with insulation in them
all interior walls are also insulated
concrete slab is about 50% thicker than what code dictates today (much less 30 years ago)

Even with our AC on the fritz, our highest power bill in a summer was just over $200. When there are accidents up on our corner, we don't hear it - our neighbors another 100 yards back hear it. When we had a couple of hurricanes blow through, we didn't even notice 'em in the middle of the night.

So... over build on exterior walls, over insulate everywhere.

The one thing I would do different if I had to rebuild my house would be more cables everywhere - network (cat5), coax (for cable/satellite tv), phone, and power outlets. A few extra circuits, with a better layout as to which outlets are on which circuits.

I would go even thicker on the walls. Also add "thermal mass" inside the house to keep the temperatures more even. Seal the exterior of the house using spray foam type insulation.

Use an air to air heat exchanger to help exchange air from the outside to the inside while reducing heat losses.

Ceiling fans in each room.

Divide up the electrical in the house to more circuits. Plan an "emergency" board with the most important circuit, with a generator feed.

Plan house with window overhangs/porches which shade the windows in the summer, but let direct light to come in, in the winter.

Low maintenance brick or stone exterior. Use non-porous material including a non-porous grout.

Plan both the roof and the electrical system for PV power. Purchase and install the materials at the time of construction. In this area, adding about 10% to the value of the house in PV plus batteries & controls, will generate enough power to run the house. If the house is well insulated and laid out to prevent summertime heating, the PV system may not need to be that large.

Along with the above system, add a long life, low maintenance generator which can run the whole house. If using the battery system above, you can minimize the generator size.

Tile in high traffic areas, hardwood and carpet in low traffic areas.

Run "conduits" for certain data cables, so that they can be easily replaced/upgraded later.

Extra interior wall and ceiling insulation to reduce room to room and floor to floor noise.

[fintstone]

We bought a new house last year. Love oversized 3-car garage, love central vac (especially in garage to clean cars) and central intercom with CD/radio. If in the county, a gas emergency generator is good. Gas to fireplaces is good if you want to add gas logs later. Same for appliances. Prewire for alarm is great. We like expansion ability (unfinished basement or property large enough for additonal buildings). Stack your staircase one above another in case you want to add a elevator later when you are too old to climb stairs. make everything as lare as possible, but be sure to make it energ efficient enough to afford the extar space (zoned heat, etc). A laundry or garage sink is helpful.

[vmb]

Looking at the wireless security options that exist now that did not when we built a few years back, I wish I had a power option on my roof gables for cameras. Not so much worried about crime, but it'd be an easy way to keep an eye out on the little ones as they play in the driveway.

[look 171]

Talk to your architect about what is included and what isn't. Are there any visitation charges?

Same as your contractor. What is included and what type or brand. No fun if he thinks one thing and you are think of another that's more then twice as much.

[Aggie93]

Pullout shelves for lower cabinets and pantry.

Easy access to large storage space with ability to put large items in it. I had empty space above our garage that I filled up, but thought it would have been great to put in a lift system with a pulley instead of forcing it up those rickety pull-down stairs.

If this is for Dallas, make sure your back patio is shaded in the evening. Otherwise you won't be out there.

If you decorate for Christmas, outlets in the soffits.

Plant trees early.

[1990C4S]

If it's a two story I would suggest a ground floor bath and bedroom. At some point you will (probably) not be ale to navigate stairs, either due to injury or old age.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

If it's a two story I would suggest a ground floor bath and bedroom. At some point you will (probably) not be ale to navigate stairs, either due to injury or old age.

This is probably the best advise here.

Make sure the bathroom is at least a three fixture bath -- have at least a shower stall.

Regarding a bedroom on the first floor -- here in NJ, the definition of what a bedroom is varies from town to town. Some define it as a room with a door, while other towns require a closet. If in your area a bedroom must have a closet, then consider putting a den / office room without a closet on the first floor. If you plan on using the first floor bedroom only for emergencies or visitors, a den / office can double as a bedroom, and may save you some coin in property taxes, if your town's definition of a bedroom includes a closet.

-Z-man.

[1990C4S]

With an aging population I foresee a real shortage of bungalows some day. In my area all the 'new construction' and 'renovation' is two story houses.

That's a great layout while your knees and back work. But if you don't have an elevator the second story might be essentially inaccessible to you some day.

[Rinty]

A couple of details:

1. install weeping tile around the foundations with redundant sump pumps

2. mouse proof all horizontal and vertical penetrations (i.e. where piping, ducting goes) with steel wool, or other mouse resistant material, while you can still get at them. For that matter, I'd have a detached garage, to reduce the risk of mice getting into the house.

3. if the house is situated in an area that has cold winters, have separate circuit breakers for each side of the plugs that are going to provide power to block heaters and vehicle interior heaters.

[jwhcars]

I can't add much to all the good ideas. I like all solid core doors for inside doors, geothermal, spray foam insulation. Build a safe room that will hold up to the worst kind of storm. My brother made his laundry room out of rebar & concrete.